I came up with the first sentence to Chapter 19 12 minutes ago. I've been so productive that I am now up to six sentences. I may have to lie down soon.
The great thing to me is that this first paragraph is a clue to the reader about the solution, but is not overt in any way, shape, or form. It also links it to the end of the previous chapter and is just overall a pretty keen piece of work. I'll probably end up deleting it at some point.
Such is the life of a writer.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
But First--
Well, not only did I not getting any new sentences written yesterday, I actually deleted the one I had. It's time for some fresh thinking and a fresh start.
The first sentence of any piece of writing is important, whether it's the first sentence in a chapter, a story, an essay, or a confession. You want to entice the reader and lure them deeper into the chapter, story, essay, or confession until they reach the point of no return. (For great writers, that point is usually right up front. For the rest of us, it varies, with a large number never establishing such a point anywhere at any time.)
So that's my current assignment: Come up with the right opening sentence. Who knows? Maybe I'll come up with one or two more. Just another hundred or two after that, I'll move on to Chapter 20. I'll shoot up a flare when I get to it.
The first sentence of any piece of writing is important, whether it's the first sentence in a chapter, a story, an essay, or a confession. You want to entice the reader and lure them deeper into the chapter, story, essay, or confession until they reach the point of no return. (For great writers, that point is usually right up front. For the rest of us, it varies, with a large number never establishing such a point anywhere at any time.)
So that's my current assignment: Come up with the right opening sentence. Who knows? Maybe I'll come up with one or two more. Just another hundred or two after that, I'll move on to Chapter 20. I'll shoot up a flare when I get to it.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Occam's Razor™
I got stuck on Chapter 19 for a number of days. I wasn't even writing any of it. I had down the grand sum of one sentence. Thirteen whole words. It was dead in the water, and I wasn't sure why.
I was being stopped by a feeling, a sense that I was about to make a wrong turn down a dark and dangerous street. I switched over to writing a non-Drayton short story to pass the time. Was this the end of zombie Shakespeare? Not quite.
In a time-tested tradition, this morning I came up with the answer to my problem while showering. It was, of course, the simplest answer possible.
You know, if Roger of Ockham had trademarked Occam's Razor™, he'd be a rich man today.
I was being stopped by a feeling, a sense that I was about to make a wrong turn down a dark and dangerous street. I switched over to writing a non-Drayton short story to pass the time. Was this the end of zombie Shakespeare? Not quite.
In a time-tested tradition, this morning I came up with the answer to my problem while showering. It was, of course, the simplest answer possible.
You know, if Roger of Ockham had trademarked Occam's Razor™, he'd be a rich man today.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
One Step Closer
I finished Chapter 18 around lunchtime today and think it came out fairly well. This was a chapter that seemed to write itself, several times going in directions that I hadn't it considered going in. In fact, it actually ended differently than I had expected and put forward an important clue without coming across like an installment of Murder She Wrote.
Most surprisingly for me, it came out in a way that is going to mean that I can salvage great chunks of the next couple of chapters, at least in terms of the action and progress of the plot. The words you never know about until you're actually faced with the task of retyping them.
This is all encouraging, and while I doubt that I will be able to finish this draft by Halloween, I think there's some chance that I'll have it finished by some time in November. I doubt that it will be "done" done by then, but it should be good enough to shop around. Of course, it will never be completely done until some publisher forces me to stop with the revisions just so that they can get it to press.
Most surprisingly for me, it came out in a way that is going to mean that I can salvage great chunks of the next couple of chapters, at least in terms of the action and progress of the plot. The words you never know about until you're actually faced with the task of retyping them.
This is all encouraging, and while I doubt that I will be able to finish this draft by Halloween, I think there's some chance that I'll have it finished by some time in November. I doubt that it will be "done" done by then, but it should be good enough to shop around. Of course, it will never be completely done until some publisher forces me to stop with the revisions just so that they can get it to press.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Redirect
I started work on Chapter 18 a few days ago and worked like a galley slave to come up with 200 words that I wasn't satisfied with. Late yesterday, I had to admit to myself that the chapter wasn't working and that I needed to reevaluate.
I realized that the scene I was writing was completely unnecessary and just needed to be jettisoned. So, late yesterday afternoon, I started fresh with a scene I'd never had a version of before and watched in astonishment as about 250 words poured out with seeming ease.
There are sometimes when you fight with the writing, when it is terribly hard and discouraging, but you keep on and persevere because something in you knows that what you're working on is the right thing. Sometimes not so much. Sometimes the words just seem to fall out of you, like sugar out of a punctured bag. Those are the good days. And it's kind of like golf, where you can play miserably except for one good shot and that one good shot hooks you and encourages you to try it again.
Now, we'll see how today goes.
I realized that the scene I was writing was completely unnecessary and just needed to be jettisoned. So, late yesterday afternoon, I started fresh with a scene I'd never had a version of before and watched in astonishment as about 250 words poured out with seeming ease.
There are sometimes when you fight with the writing, when it is terribly hard and discouraging, but you keep on and persevere because something in you knows that what you're working on is the right thing. Sometimes not so much. Sometimes the words just seem to fall out of you, like sugar out of a punctured bag. Those are the good days. And it's kind of like golf, where you can play miserably except for one good shot and that one good shot hooks you and encourages you to try it again.
Now, we'll see how today goes.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Chapter 17 Done
Okay, Chapter 17, another really short one, is done, and I think it's a distinct improvement over its antecedent. The funny thing is that it turned out to be an easier job of rewriting than Chapter 16, which started out in better shape but was torture to revise. You never know. You just never know.
The other thing that's come up is that the entire ending is changing shape on me as I revise it. New scenes, new approaches, new settings. It's exciting and disconcerting all at the same time. What I'm really doing is removing all the vestiges of the original TV movie version of it. It's still comic in spirit, but not a comedy anymore.
The other thing that's come up is that the entire ending is changing shape on me as I revise it. New scenes, new approaches, new settings. It's exciting and disconcerting all at the same time. What I'm really doing is removing all the vestiges of the original TV movie version of it. It's still comic in spirit, but not a comedy anymore.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Rounding Up
The chapter I am currently at work on what was originally the last half of Chapter 16. Chapter 16 1/2, really. As a practical matter, I decided to round it up to Chapter 17. Easier for the bookkeeping aspect of things.
After I got a cool three sentences down yesterday, I started to rethink the entire scene. It just wasn't convincing. It wasn't working. Drayton would have had to have been nearly psychic for the action to unfold as I had it. The set up is that he realizes that Federal agents are staking out his apartment, so he engages in a bit of misdirection as a way of avoiding them.
I turned over several possibilities in my mind before stumbling on the simplest: His pal Lt. Sidwell can tip him off via a phone call. Occam's razor, I think they call it.
And now the rewriting of the rewriting begins.
After I got a cool three sentences down yesterday, I started to rethink the entire scene. It just wasn't convincing. It wasn't working. Drayton would have had to have been nearly psychic for the action to unfold as I had it. The set up is that he realizes that Federal agents are staking out his apartment, so he engages in a bit of misdirection as a way of avoiding them.
I turned over several possibilities in my mind before stumbling on the simplest: His pal Lt. Sidwell can tip him off via a phone call. Occam's razor, I think they call it.
And now the rewriting of the rewriting begins.
Monday, October 01, 2007
Plus ça Change
Last night, I decided to look over the final chapter even though I am still some way from reaching it for revision. I'm glad I did.
I think it wasn't much of an ending, one more suited to a broad comedy than to the book it has become. I've got a few weeks to turn it over before I need to really deal with it, which is a plus, but the revision will ultimately be substantial enough that I think I might have to put that rewrite on hold for a while even then.
In the meantime, I have four chapter to rewrite, one of which (I think Chapter 17, which I am starting work on today) will include an entire scene that never existed before. That's a lot of work and all the while I'll be thinking about the damn ending.
It would be so much easier to do a crap job and probably more profitable, too. Unfortunately, I am stuck with the desire to write something worth writing and, with any luck, worth reading.
But that's the way it goes.
I think it wasn't much of an ending, one more suited to a broad comedy than to the book it has become. I've got a few weeks to turn it over before I need to really deal with it, which is a plus, but the revision will ultimately be substantial enough that I think I might have to put that rewrite on hold for a while even then.
In the meantime, I have four chapter to rewrite, one of which (I think Chapter 17, which I am starting work on today) will include an entire scene that never existed before. That's a lot of work and all the while I'll be thinking about the damn ending.
It would be so much easier to do a crap job and probably more profitable, too. Unfortunately, I am stuck with the desire to write something worth writing and, with any luck, worth reading.
But that's the way it goes.
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